NEWLY elected Abergaveny councillor Martyn Groucutt has been named the chairman of Monmouthshire County Council’s Children and Young People select committee.

Following the recent county council elections Monmouthshire has appointed chairs to its five select committees, the bodies which examine and scrutinise as part of the council’s decision-making machinery.

In common with all Welsh county councils, Monmouthshire has adopted the cabinet model of governance and as part of this all decisions taken by cabinet members are subject to scrutiny with cabinet members are held accountable for their performance and actions. 

Select committee members can challenge officers and cabinet members on the effectiveness of services delivered in the county and they can also invite other bodies to select committee meetings to discuss services such as broadband delivered to Monmouthshire’s residents. 

This could include calling in private sector service providers and government agencies to ensure that services delivered to the taxpayer are effective, efficient and of a high quality.

Select committees meet on a six-weekly cycle and each holds a 15 minute public forum at the beginning of its meeting.  The community is welcome to attend and suggest future issues for scrutiny or to offer their views on the topics to be discussed at the meeting.  Residents wishing to involve themselves in a scrutiny meeting should contact the chair of the relevant select committee.

The chairs of the council’s five select committees are:

·       Children and Young People – Cllr Martyn Groucutt

·       Adult – Cllr Simon Howarth

·       Strong Communities – Cllr Jane Pratt

·       Economy and Development – Cllr Paul Pavia

·       Public Service Board – this committee is chaired on a rotational basis by the chairs of the other four committees

Monmouthshire’s cabinet member with responsibility for governance, Councillor Paul Jordan said: “We’re committed to ensuring the highest standards of governance and accountability across the council’s portfolio and will be working with members and officers to raise performance in service delivery.”